How to Play Billiards

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Three Parts:Mastering the RulesMastering the Cue and Your StanceExperimenting with Strategy and Game
Variations
Billiards games are divided into 2 types: carom billiards, played on a pocketless table in
which the object is to bounce the cue ball off other balls or the table rails, and pocket
billiards, played on a table with pockets in which the object is to sink the colored balls into
the pockets by striking them with the cue ball -- aka pool. If you're looking for pocket
billiards, wikiHow has a great How to Play Pool article, too. But here, we'll cover the basics
of carom billiards -- and its variations -- in addition to equipment and strategy. Carom
billiards involves serious skill, often incorporating angles and trick shots. If you already know
pool, carom is the next step!
Part 1 of 3: Mastering the Rules
1.
1
Grab a friend and a billiards table. Carom billiards, of any variety, requires two people. It
can be played with a third, but standard carom is with two. You'll need your standard
billiards table -- 4 feet by 8 feet, 4 1/2 feet by 9 feet, 5 feet by 10 feet, or 6 feet by 12
feet without pockets.
[1]
This "without" pockets thing is pretty important. You could play on a
pool table (pocket billiards), but you'll soon find that the pockets get in the way and could
potentially ruin the game. Here's everything you need to know (and some things you may
not) when it comes to the table:
Those diamonds are for you to use! If you know your geometry, you can use them to aim
your shot. We'll cover that in the next section (strategy).
The rail by where the first player breaks is called the short, or head, rail. The opposite rail is
called the foot rail, and the long rails are called the side rails.
The area behind which you break, behind the "head string," is called the "kitchen."
The pros play on heated billiards tables. The heat gets the balls to roll more smoothly.
[2]

It's green so you can look at it for long periods of time. Apparently humans can handle
green better than any other color.
[3]

Ad
2. 2
Determine who goes first by "lagging." That's where you each line up your ball near the
baulk cushion (the short end of the table where you break from), hit the ball, and see who
can return it closest to the Baulk cushion as the ball slows to a stop. The game hasn't even
started yet and it takes skill!
If you hit the other player's ball, you forfeit your chance of calling who starts. If you do win
the lag, it's generally accepted that you go second. The player who breaks generally wastes
their turn setting up the balls, not taking a strategic shot.
3. 3
Set up the game. You'll each need a cue stick, for starters (you had these for the lag,
right?). Billiards cues are actually shorter and lighter than their pool counterparts, with a
shorter ferrule (the white part near the end) and a thicker butt.
[4]
Then you'll need three balls
-- one white cue ball (heretofore called "white"), one white cue ball with a black spot on it
("spot"), and one object ball, typically red. Sometimes a yellow ball is used in place of the
spot.
The person who wins the lag calls which ball they'd like to be theirs (cue ball), the white or
the spot. It's just a matter of personal preference. The object ball (red) is then placed at the
foot spot.
[5]
That's where the point of the triangle would be in pool, by the way. The
opponent's cue ball is placed at the head spot, where you normally break from in pool as
well. The starting player's cue is then placed on the head string (in line with the head spot),
at least 6 inches (15 cm) from their opponent's cue.
[6]

So, obviously, when your ball is in line with your opponent's, it's very hard to hit both balls
on the table. Hence why if you win the lag, you opt to go second.
4. 4
Determine the rules you and your partner want to play by. As with any game that's
centuries old, there are variations in play. Some make it easy, some make it hard, and
some make it faster or slower. How much time do you have on your hands? And how much
skill?
For starters, every type of carom billiards involves getting a point by striking bothballs on the
table. It's how you do that that changes:
In straight-rail billiards, as long as you hit both balls, you get a point. This is easiest.
In one-cushion billiards, you must hit one cushion (one side of the table) before the second
ball is displaced.
[5]

In three-cushion billiards, you must hit three cushions before the balls roll to a stop.
[7]

Balkline billiards removes the one flaw in this game. If you manage to get both balls into a
corner, you could, presumably, hit them off of each other over and over and over. Balkline
billiards stipulates that you cannot receive points from a shot where the balls are in the
same area (often the table is divided into 8 sections) of the table.
[7]

Once you determine how you get points, decide at what point you'd like to stop. In one-
cushion, that number is generally 8.
[5]
But three-cushion is so hard, you'll have better luck
with 2!
5.
5
Play the game! Move your arm smoothly back, then forward in a pendulum motion. The
rest of your body should remain still as you stroke through the cue ball, letting the cue come
to rest naturally. There you have it -- all you gotta do is hit both balls to receive a point --
technically, each turn is referred to as a "cannon."
[2]
But here are some more specifics:
[1]

The player who goes first must hit the red ball (it'd be weird to hit the other, anyway)
If you score a point, continue shooting
Playing "slop" (accidentally getting a point) is generally regarded as illegal
Always keep one foot on the floor at all times
"Jumping" the ball is a foul, as is hitting a ball when it's still in motion
6.
6
Look for the place on the cue ball where the cue tip should connect. You can do this
while taking your practice strokes. Line up your cue stick with where you would hit the ball if
you could hit it directly. Then aim for that spot.
Most often, you'll want to hit the cue ball squarely in the center. Sometimes, you may want
to hit the ball to one side or another to impart sidespin, or "English," to it to make the ball
travel to one side. Occasionally, you may want to hit the cue ball below center to cause it to
climb over a ball you don't want to move and strike a ball you do want to move.
Part 2 of 3: Mastering the Cue and Your Stance
1.
1
Grip the cue stick correctly. Your shooting hand should grip the butt of the cue stick in a
loose, relaxed manner, with your thumb as a support and your index, middle, and ring
fingers doing the gripping. Your wrist should point straight down to prevent it from moving
sideways when you take your shot.
Your shooting hand should generally grip the cue stick about 6 inches (15 cm) to the rear of
the stick's balance point. If you're short, you may want to move your hand forward of this
point; if you're tall, you may want to move it further back.
2.
2
Place the fingers of your off-hand around the tip to form a bridge. This prevents the
cue stick from moving sideways when you shoot. There are 3 main grips: the closed, the
open, and the rail bridge.
In a closed bridge, you wrap your index fingers around the cue and use your other fingers to
steady your hand. This allows for more control over the stick, particularly with a forceful
forward stroke.
3.
3
In an open bridge, form a V-groove with your thumb and forefinger. The cue will slide
through and you will use your other fingers to keep the cue from moving sideways. The
open bridge is better for softer shots and is preferred by players who have trouble making a
closed bridge. A variation of the open bridge, is the elevated bridge, in which you raise your
hand to lift the cue over an obstructing ball when striking the cue.
Use the rail bridge when the cue ball is too close to the rail for you to slip your hand behind
it. Lay your cue stick over the rail and keep its tip steady with your off hand.
4.
4
Align your body with the shot. Line yourself up with the cue ball and the ball you want to
hit. The foot corresponding to your shooting hand (right foot if you're right-handed, left foot if
you're left-handed) should be touching this line at a 45-degree angle. Your other foot should
be a comfortable distance away from it and forward of the foot matching your shooting
hand.
5.
5
Stand a comfortable distance away. This depends on 3 things: your height, your reach,
and the location of the cue ball. The further away the cue ball is from your side of the table,
the longer you'll have to stretch.
Most billiards games require you to keep at least 1 foot on the floor when shooting. If you
can't do so comfortably, you may either need to take a different shot or use a mechanical
bridge to rest the tip of your cue stick in when you shoot.
6.
6
Position yourself vertically with the shot. Your chin should be rest slightly over the table
so that you're sighting down the cue stick as close to horizontal as comfortable. If you're tall,
you'll need to bend your forward knee or both knees to get into position. You'll also need to
bend forward at the hips.
Either the center of your head or your dominant eye should line up with the center of the
cue stick without tilting. Some professional pool players do tilt their heads, however.
Most pocket billiards players put their heads 1 to 6 inches (2.5 to 15 cm) above the cue
stick, while snooker players have their heads touching or almost touching the cue. The
closer you bring your head, the greater your accuracy, but at a loss of range for the back
and forward stroke.
Part 3 of 3: Experimenting with Strategy and Game Variations
1.
1
Look for your best shot. This depends all on where the balls lie on the table. In carom
billiards games that allow it, you want to take shots that gather the balls together so you can
score repeatedly by bouncing them off one another (in other words,not Balkline). Take a
look at the angles and how it all lines up. Take into account the cushions, if you need to,
too!
Sometimes, your best shot isn't a scoring shot (offensive shot) but to shoot the cue ball to a
place where your opponent has difficulty making a scoring shot (that is, a defensive shot).
Take a few practice strokes if you need them. This will limber up your arm before the actual
shot.
2. 2
Get to know the "diamond system." Yep, math. But once you get it down, it's fairly
simple. Each diamond has a number. You take the number of the diamond the cue would
hit initially (called the cue position) and then subtract the natural angle (the number of the
diamond on the short rail). This leaves you with a number -- the number of the diamond you
should be aiming for!
3. 3
Play "artistic billiards." Yep, it's a thing. This is where players aim to complete 76 set-up
variations, all of various levels of difficulty. So when you've got the game down, set yourself
(and your friend) up some trick shots. Who can complete the most difficult ones?
If one-cushion billiards is doable, try moving to two. Three is near impossible, even for the
pros! If you can handle two, you should start playing for money!
4. 4
Strike the cue ball in different ways. How the cue ball strikes another ball can determine
the direction the other ball travels. This effect is called "throw" and can be caused either by
the angle at which the cue ball strikes the other ball, how much English was imparted to the
cue ball, or both. Billiards players who've practiced and studied the effects of their shots
make use of this when they play pool.
Take some time to experiment! The more you see how many options you have, the better
you'll get and the more fun the game will be. Take your carom billiards skill and start playing
pool, 9-ball, 8-ball or even Snooker!



Major games[edit]


The billiards room inside the Royal
Automobile Club in London.
There are two main varieties
of billiard games: carom and
pocket. The main carom
billiards games are straight
rail, balkline and
especially three
cushion billiards. All are
played on a pocketless table
with three balls; two cue balls
and one object ball. In all,
players shoot a cue ball so
that it makes contact with the
opponent's cue ball as well as
the object ball. Others of
multinational interest are four-
ball and five-pins.
The most globally popular of
the large variety of pocket
games
are Pool and snooker. English
billiards, with some features
of carom billiards, was one of
the two most-competitive cue
sports, along with balkline, at
the turn of the previous
century and is still enjoyed
today especially
in Commonwealth countries.
Russian pyramid and its
variants like kaisa are popular
in the former Eastern bloc.


Man playing billiards with a cue
and a woman with mace, from an
illustration appearing in Michael
Phelan's 1859 book, The Game of
Billiards.
Games played on a carom billiards table[edit]
Main article: Carom billiards
Straight rail or straight
billiards[edit]
Main article: Balkline and
straight rail
In straight rail, a player scores
a point and may continue
shooting each time his cue
ball makes contact with both
other balls.
Although a difficult and subtle
game, some of the best
players of straight billiards
developed the skill
to gather the balls in a corner
or along the same rail for the
purpose of playing a series
of nurse shots to score a
seemingly limitless number of
points.
The first straight rail
professional tournament was
held in 1879 where Jacob
Schaefer, Sr. scored 690
points in a single
turn
[12][page needed]
(that is, 690
separate strokes without a
miss). With the balls
repetitively hit and barely
moving in endless "nursing",
there was little for the fans to
watch.
Balkline[edit]
Main article: Balkline and
straight rail
In light of these phenomenal
skill developments in straight
rail, the game of balkline soon
developed to make it
impossible for a player to
keep the balls gathered in
one part of the table for long,
greatly limiting the
effectiveness of nurse shots.
A balkline (not to be confused
with baulk line, which pertains
to the game of English
billiards) is a line parallel to
one end of a billiards table. In
the games of balkline 18.1
and 18.2 (pronounced
"eighteen-point-two") balkline,
among other more obscure
variations the players have
to drive at least one object
ball past a balkline set at 18
inches (460 mm) from each
rail, after one or two points
have been scored,
respectively.
Three-cushion billiards[edit]
Main article: Three-cushion
billiards
A more elegant solution was
three-cushion billiards, which
requires a player to make
contact with the other two
balls on the table and contact
three rail cushions in the
process. This is difficult
enough that even the best
players can only manage to
average one to two points per
turn.
Games played on a pool table[edit]
Main article: Pool (cue sports)
There are many variations of
games played on a standard
pool table. Popular pool game
include eight-ball, nine-
ball, straight pool and one-
pocket. Even within games
types (e.g.eight-ball), there
may be variations, and people
may play recreationally using
relaxed or local rules. A few
of the more popular examples
of pool games are given
below.
In eight-ball and nine-ball, the
object is to sink object balls
until one can legally pocket
the
winning eponymous "money
ball". Well-known but waning
in popularity is straight pool,
in which players seek to
continue sinking balls, rack
after rack if they can, to reach
a pre-determined winning
score (typically 150). Related
to nine-ball, another well-
known game is rotation,
where the lowest-numbered
object ball on the table must
be struck first, although any
object ball may be pocketed
(i.e., combination shot). Each
pocketed ball is worth its
number, and the player with
the highest score at the end
of the rack is the winner.
Since there are only 120
points available
(1 + 2 + 3 + 15 = 120),
scoring 61 points leaves no
opportunity for the opponent
to catch up. In both one-
pocket and bank pool, the
players must sink a set
number of balls; respectively,
all in a particular pocket, or all
by bank shots. In snooker,
players score points by
alternately potting red
balls and various special
"colour balls".
Two-player or -team
games[edit]
Eight-ball: The goal is
to pocket (pot) all of one's
designated group of balls
(either stripes vs. solids,
or reds vs. yellows,
depending upon the
equipment), and then pocket
the8 ball in a called pocket.
Nine-ball: The goal is to
pocket the 9 ball; the initial
contact of the cue ball each
turn must be with the lowest-
numbered object
ball remaining on the table;
there are numerous variants
such as seven-ball, six-ball,
and the older forms of three-
ball and ten-ball, that simply
use a different number of
balls and have a
different money ball.
Straight pool (a.k.a. 14.1
continuous pool): The goal is
to reach a predetermined
number of points (e.g. 100);
a point is earned by
pocketing any called ball into
a designated pocket; game
play is by racks of 15 balls,
and the last object ball of a
rack is not pocketed, but left
on the table with the
opponent re-racking the
remaining 14 before game
play continues.
Bank pool: The goal is to
reach a predetermined
number of points; a point is
earned by pocketing any
called ball by banking it into
a designated pocket using
one or
morecushion.
[17][unreliable source?]

Speed pool[edit]
Speed pool is a standard
billiards game where the balls
must be pocketed in as little
time as possible. Rules vary
greatly from tournament to
tournament. The International
Speed Pool Challenge has
been held annually since
2006.
Games played on a snooker table[edit]
English billiards[edit]
Main article: English billiards
Dating to approximately 1800,
English billiards, called simply
billiards
[5]
in many former
British colonies and in Great
Britain where it originated,
was originally called
the winning and losing
carambole game, folding in
the names of three
predecessor games, the
winning game, the losing
game and the carambole
game (an early form
of straight rail), that combined
to form it.
[18]
The game
features
both cannons (caroms) and
the pocketing of balls as
objects of play. English
billiards requires two cue
balls and a red object ball.
The object of the game is to
score either a fixed number of
points, or score the most
points within a set time frame,
determined at the start of the
game.
Points are awarded for:
Two-ball cannons: striking
both the object ball and the
other (opponent's) cue ball
on the same shot (2 points).
Winning hazards: potting the
red ball (3 points); potting
the other cue ball (2 points).
Losing hazards (or "in-offs"):
potting one's cue ball by
cannoning off another ball (3
points if the red ball was hit
first; 2 points if the other cue
ball was hit first, or if the red
and other cue ball were
"split", i.e., hit
simultaneously).
Snooker[edit]
Main article: Snooker
Snooker is a pocket billiards
game originated by British
officers stationed
in India during the 19th
century, based on earlier pool
games such as black pool
and life pool. The name of the
game became generalized to
also describe one of its prime
strategies: to "snooker" the
opposing player by causing
that player to foul or leave an
opening to be exploited.
In the United Kingdom,
snooker is by far the most
popular cue sport at the
competitive level, and major
national pastime along
with association
football and cricket. It is
played in
many Commonwealth countri
es as well, especially in Asia.
Snooker is uncommon
in North America, where pool
games such as eight-ball and
nine-ball dominate, and Latin
America and Continental
Europe, where carom games
dominate. The first World
Snooker Championship was
held in 1927, and it has been
held annually since then with
few exceptions. The World
Professional Billiards and
Snooker
Association (WPBSA) was
established in 1968 to
regulate the professional
game, while the International
Billiards and Snooker
Federation (IBSF) regulates
the amateur games.